🚩 Spot TOP 6 Rug Pull Red Flags That Scream Scams Before They Take Every Penny in Your Wallet

Introduction

Last Part: Performance Tracking Guide & Full Launching Calendar Template

Now, I want to show you something really interesting:

• This project raised 1197 BNB, which is equal to $755,000 as of March 2025.

  

• This project raised 238 ETH, which is equal to $473,000 in today’s value.

  

• And this project raised 353 BNB, which is about $222,700 as of today.

  

Now, all these three projects (and many others on other crypto launchpads, and even on-chain) have one thing in common:

All of them are pure rugpull or scam projects. Look at these investors, they are “scammed”:

Today’s lesson will be super straightforward, cause as you can see its name, it’s about “scam”. So I won’t waste your time with fluff or long-winded stories. I’ve seen way too many people lose money in crypto. Some lost $100. Others lost everything — $10,000, $50,000, even more.

Most of them had no idea it was a scam until it was too late. I don’t want that to happen to you. I’ll show you how scams actually work, how people get tricked, and most importantly, how you can protect yourself from ending up in one. You’d be surprised how many tokens look good on the outside: cool websites, clean whitepapers, even verified smart contracts but they still turn out to be scams.

I’ll show you how I spotted these scams and what they did. None of them spent a single penny on marketing. Yet they still raised hundreds of thousands, even millions. There are also projects on PinkSale’s leaderboard that raised over $3 million. Same story. they were rugpulls or scams.

They didn’t advertise.
They didn’t run paid campaigns.
They used something else to raise the funds.

And once the funds came in, they just ran away with investor money.
And I can prove all of it.

I. What is a Rug Pull?

Let me explain this in the most direct way: a rug pull is when someone creates a crypto project, hypes it up, gets people to put money in, and then suddenly runs away with the funds. The project disappears, the token crashes, and people lose everything.

The name “rug pull” comes from the idea of pulling the rug out from under you - you think everything’s fine, then bam, it collapses.

Simple Example:

You see a new token project. It looks exciting. It has a cool name, flashy website, maybe even a Telegram group with thousands of users. You think, “This could be the next big thing.” => You buy in. A lot of people do.

Then, boom. One day, the developers take all the liquidity (that’s the pool of money used to let people buy/sell the token), and they vanish.

Your tokens? Still sitting in your wallet. But they’re worthless now. Why? Because you can’t sell them. There’s no money left in the project. The devs ran off with it.

Two common types of rug pulls:

1. Liquidity Rug Pull

   • They drain the liquidity pool.

   • So no one can sell the token anymore, even if they want to.

   • Let’s say the pool had $1 million from investors - gone in seconds.

2. Token Dump Rug Pull

   • The devs hold a huge portion of the token supply.

   • They wait for the price to go up as people buy in, then dump everything.

   • Price crashes by 90% or more in minutes.

     

🤔 Why do they happen so often?

Because:

• Crypto is unregulated in many parts of the world.

• Anyone can create a token or smart contract in a few hours.

• Many people invest without doing much research.

• FOMO (fear of missing out) drives people to jump in fast, especially when prices are rising.

II. Common Red Flags of a Rug Pull

Like I said before, this part will be super straightforward so that you can get all these red flags immediately. So I’ll show you the most common signs I’ve learned (honestly, I was scammed twice 😢)

🚩 Red Flag #1: Website Gone

• The first red flag is always this:

  

  All three of the examples I show you above, you’ll see their site is down. Their X accounts are gone too. Their Telegram? Either gone or locked. You can’t post. They’re not active.

🚩 Red Flag #2: Look at the Chart

• The easiest way to spot a scam project?

  If it looks like this — just a complete red chart — that’s your signal. That’s a rugpull. And lucky for us, blockchain has all the historical data of all the transactions.

  

• This is when the trading got enabled right after their fair launch or presale, and after 6 minutes you can see a few wallets sold huge amounts of these tokens. The first one was $43,000, more than $43,000. It was followed by $13,000, $3,700. And similarly it will go on and on 11,000.
  
  => So as you can see, it was a massive sell off which resulted in this red candle. And this is why I mentioned repeatedly that the liquidity pool should be locked for at least 1 year.

  

🚩 Red Flag #3: Anonymous or Fake Team

If you don’t know who’s behind the project, that’s your first big red flag.

Let me explain.

Most legit crypto projects have team members who show their real names, faces, and even LinkedIn profiles. You can Google them and see their past work. But if the project only gives cartoon pictures or random usernames like “CryptoKing123,” that’s a problem.

In over 80% of rug pulls, the team was anonymous. If there’s no one to hold accountable, they can vanish, and there’s nothing you can do.

Here’s what to check:

• Do they have LinkedIn profiles?

• Can you find their interviews or YouTube videos?

• Have they worked on any known projects before?

If the answer is no or you feel like something’s hidden, walk away.

🚩 Red Flag #4: Liquidity Is Not Locked

Liquidity means the pool of money that lets people trade the token - usually on a DEX like Uniswap or PancakeSwap.

If that money isn’t locked, the team can remove it anytime. That’s the classic rug pull move.

What to check:

• Go to the token’s info page on the DEXTools, paste the project’s contract address you wanna check, and click on this button:

  
  

• Look for the lock duration. A real project usually locks liquidity for 6 months to 1 year minimum.

• If the lock is only a few days - or missing entirely - be very careful.

In most rug pulls, the devs yank out all the liquidity and leave buyers with worthless tokens. It happens within seconds, and once it’s gone, you can’t get your money back.

🚩 Red Flag #5: Too Much Supply Controlled by the Team

This one’s tricky but important. If the devs or insiders hold too many tokens, they can dump them on the market and crash the price. Fast.

Let me give you a real number: If the top 10 wallets (excluding the liquidity pool) hold more than 15–20% of the total supply, that’s risky. Like this:

Here’s how to check:

• Use a free site like DexTools

• Look for “Holders.”

• If one wallet has 30% of the tokens or more, run. I’ve seen this lead to full crashes within minutes.

Sometimes scammers split their tokens across different wallets to hide it. But tools like DexTools will still show you the top holders. You’ll see the pattern.

🚩 Red Flag #6: Admins Ban Users Who Ask Questions

Join the project’s Telegram or X post. Ask a basic question like:

• “Is liquidity locked?”

• “Is the contract audited?”

• “What does the team plan to release next?”

If they ignore you or ban you right away—that’s a rug pull tactic. I’ve seen it happen in multiple scams. Real teams answer questions, even hard ones.

Quick test: Scroll up in the group and see how many people got banned or deleted. If it’s a lot, they’re hiding something.

III. Common Questions You Ask A Lot

1. So How Did They Raise So Much?

→ None of them spent on marketing. They didn't buy traffic. They didn’t run ads. They just used other methods — bots, fake hype, timing — to raise funds.

Once they had the money, they rugged, pulled liquidity, and left.

2. Why They Can’t Be Traced

You can’t trace them. Blockchain is decentralized.

Wallets are public, but there’s no identity attached. They just pull the rug and vanish. Over and over. A lot of them become millionaires just by doing this in less than a year.

3. Why I’m Telling You All This

Everything I taught in SuperAI x Crypto course was about the right way to build a project. But there’s a dark side too.

People use different techniques to scam investors, and these methods are very common. To educate you, I’ve created this short lesson. But if you want to have another course to be just dedicated to this topic.

I think it’ll be purely educational. I’ll show:

• How these projects raise funds without any marketing

• How they use bots and fake wallets

• How they trigger FOMO

• How they pull liquidity

• And how they stay anonymous and get away

It will be a short course yet. I'll cover and decode their methods step by step for educational purposes. This course will enable you to see the other side of the spectrum and understand how these actors are implemented, these wide range scam projects, and how they get away with millions of dollars in just a couple of days.

I am in no way suggesting or teaching anyone these methods. It is purely for educational purposes, so you and your loved ones don't fall victim to these projects.

=> LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT ME TO CREATE THIS NEW COURSE!

BONUS: What to Do If You’ve Fallen for a Rug Pull?

So… you got rugged. It sucks. I’ve been there too 😢 I know your first instinct is to sell whatever’s left or do something fast. But stop for a second.

• First, check what exactly happened: Did the devs just dump? Did they pull liquidity? Or is the site/socials just down?

• Sometimes, it’s not a full rug yet, some projects recover from panic dips or FUD. I’ve seen it before.

Go and check:

• Is liquidity removed?

• Are tokens still moving?

• Are wallets dumping?

If you see the dev wallet removing liquidity or dumping all tokens, it's likely a rug. Now we act. If trading isn’t disabled and liquidity isn’t fully gone, you might still be able to sell your tokens.

=> Try swapping your tokens for BNB, ETH, or stablecoins like USDT/USDC.

🟢 Important: If you can’t sell, it’s likely a honeypot rug (you can buy but never sell). You’re stuck but don’t give up yet.

Next, Report the Scam – You’re Not Alone. This step won’t get your money back immediately, but it does make a difference.

Ah, another solution, Try Claiming Losses (It’s Rare, but Possible). In 2022, I saw a small group who got rugged in a project called “MoonPortX” manage to get some funds back. But keep in mind, recovering funds is hard and often takes months.

Conclusion & Next Last Part

Alright, you might’ve lost $50 or $5,000. I’ve seen people lose $100,000+ in one rug. It hurts. But you’re still early in crypto. It’s part of the hard lessons. The important part is this: Don’t let one scam push you out of the space. Let it sharpen your instincts.

I turned my biggest rug (loss of $3,200) into a checklist that’s now helped over 150 people avoid scams. Use your experience to build your own rules.

You’ll get better. You’ll spot scams faster. And you’ll make it back with smarter, safer plays. Try to remember these red flags okay.

Last Lesson: How to Grab Opportunities Fast & See Bull & Bear Scenarios in 2025